Omnium gatherum
by elviella
Summary: Series of one-shots, each based on a random word. Second one up: "Albumen". Little Shikamaru learns new vocabulary. His mom isn't particularly pleased.
1. Chapter 1: What about werewolves?

**Title:** "What about werewolves?"

**Rating:** K+

**Pairings:** None. Maybe in the next one.

**Summary:** Ninjas, especially young, can be afraid of monsters, too.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I don't own any characters. The belong to Kishimoto Masashi. If they did belong to me, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

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Omnium Gatherum: A miscellaneous collection; a hodgepodge.

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"Neji-nii-san?"

"Hmph?"

The pale boy looked up from his studies. His cousin was standing at the door.

"Yes, Hinata-sama?"

"C-could you p-please tell me… Do werewolves exist, Neji-nii-san?" the small eight years old girl asked.

_What?_

Little Hanabi was sleeping, he was studying as always, and Hinata should have been sleeping, as well. Was she having nightmares? He stared at her with his pupil-less eyes. She did look kind of upset. She wore a worried expression and her fingers were twiddling with the fabric of her nightwear. Well, her fingers almost always twiddled, but she did look a little …terrified, maybe?

"Why are you asking, Hinata-sama?"

He should probably not be asking, however it sort of …interested him.

"Umm… I, err, I mean, t-these kids in the academy today… were talking about m-monsters and …umm… werewolves. I just thought I should ask you…"

"No."

"Eh?" She looked up from her hands.

"Werewolves don't exist, Hinata-sama. There are plenty of monsters, but not werewolves. But, anyway, a ninja should be able to face any kind of monster."

"Oh"

He went back to his scrolls, but he knew she was still standing at the entrance. When he realised she wouldn't leave, she turned to face her again.

"Yes, Hinata-sama?" he asked politely.

"N-nothing. Thanks, Neji-nii-san. Goodnight."

She bowed and turned away to leave, but something still bothered him.

"Do you need company?" he said without really thinking.

A Hyuuga, let alone an heiress, should never _need _company. Plus, he shouldn't be asking anyway. It wasn't right.

She looked at him hesitantly. At last, she nodded and sat down near the door.

"Thank you, Neji-nii-san", she said quietly.

Neji didn't answer, only shook his head and continued his studying. After several minutes, (or was it an hour?) he looked at her sideways. She had fallen asleep, her head resting on her arms, which were folded on her knees.

Neji rubbed the cursed seal on his forehead. He had learned to hate her, and even though hatred was too big for a nine-year-old boy, he really did. However, she was just a little girl, and times like that made it a little bit difficult hating her.

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A/N: This is my first time writing fanfiction EVER. No, wait, I think I've written something about Harry Potter once… Well, back to the point, Neji is kinda out of character here, but I had this idea and I just wanted to write it! It still bothers me, though.

Also, this is the first of one series of one-shots, based on random words I picked from the dictionary. This one was "werewolf". Next one is "floodlight", but I don't really have an idea yet. I think it might include Kotetsu and Izumo.

Any feedback would be awesome! And, if you spot any grammatical errors, please tell me and I'll fix them. =)


	2. Chapter 2: Troublesome eggs

**Title:** Troublesome Eggs…

**Rating:** K

**Pairings:** Nope, not here.

**Summary:** Young Shikamaru learns two new words, all due to awful food.

**Disclaimer:** All the characters that appear in this story are property of Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. None of them belongs to me. If they did, I'd be a) much richer than I am now, b) not writing fanfiction, but planning the next Naruto chapter.

**Troublesome eggs…**

Nara Shikamaru liked clouds a lot. He also liked sleeping. Among the several things he _didn't_ like, were eggs. Especially boiled eggs.

Another thing he didn't like, was the fact his mom always forgot that he hated eggs, and always served them for breakfast.

Nara Yoshino pushed two bowls of boiled eggs in front of her husband and four-year-old son, and heard them both sigh.

Shikaku took his spoon without really saying anything, mumbling something along the lines of "troublesome". He did, however, start to eat.

Shikamaru, in the other hand, after poking his egg with the spoon, started to talk.

"Okaa-san."

"What?"

"I don't like eggs."

"Eggs are good for you, can't you see your dad eating them?" she snapped, glaring at her husband, who looked utterly unhappy eating his eggs. "Don't you wanna be a powerful shinobi like him? Just eat then."

"But I don't want to be a shinobi! It's tiring. And eggs are ...umm… stupid! Awful, I tell you."

"Troublesome, maybe?" Shikaku suggested calmly.

"Yeah, troublesome. Especially the white part. The white part is _very_ troublesome."

"It's called the albumen, Shikamaru. And you should just eat it. It's not this difficult."

"But it's nasty! Really troublesome!"

"I won't say anything more. Just. Eat. Your. Eggs." Yoshino said as she started washing Shikaku's bowl.

"But the albumen is troublesome! All of the egg is troublesome! Tastes awful and smells weirdly! And the albumen is troublesome!"

Yoshino patted his head rather threateningly.

"Eat your eggs. Now. And 'troublesome' is not a _suitable_ word"

"How troublesome…" the kid said, and took his spoon, only to start messing with his food.

He knew his mother was glaring at his dad in _that_ way again, because he said "C'me on, Shikamaru… Eat your eggs, kid…", too.

Fine.

"Troublesome" he said, but started to eat the eggs, really slowly, and pausing to choke and make disgusted noises.

When he finished, he decided to go watch clouds again, but before he was entirely out the kitchen door, he heard his mom say something to his dadabout "vocabulary".

He didn't care about albumen, but he really liked that "troublesome" word.

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**A/N.:** Yeah, I said I would write about floodlight, but couldn't think of anything and wrote about the next one, "Albumen". Next one is either "floodlight" or "horticulture".

According to the databooks, Shikamaru's least favourite food is boiled eggs. I decided to write about it, and, of course, I had to write about "troublesome", too. I'm not entirely happy with it, but writing Shikamaru is fun. :D

I promise the next one WON'T include little Konoha 12 in any way. XD

Any reviews, constructive criticism and feedback are appreciated and wanted.


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